Louisiana
House Bill 636 (2011)
Introduction
When House Bill 636 was introduced in May,
2011, it included the following protection of
conscience provision which amended the
existing law to remove a limitation it
contained. The final version of the bill that
passed in June, 2011, deleted this section,
leaving the existing protection of conscience
law unchanged.
Regular Session, 2011
[Original]
(Substitute for House Bill No. 586 by
Representative Hoffmann)
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN
AN ACT
To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1299.35.6,
1299.35.9(A)(1) and (B)(2), and 1299.35.19 and to
enact R.S. 40:1299.35.1(11) and 1299.35.5.1,
relative to abortion; to require certain signage in
abortion facilities; to provide for certain
requirements of the Department ofHealth andHospitals
relative to abortion; to provide for voluntary and
informed consent criteria; to provide for delivery
of certain information under the Woman's Right to
Know law; to provide relative to conscience in
health care protection, including provisions
relative to living human embryos; to provide for
penalties; and to provide for related matters.
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§1299.35.9. Conscience in health care
protection; definitions
A.(1) Any person has the right not to participate
in, and no person shall be
required to participate in any health care service
that violates his conscience
to the
extent that patient access
to health care is not compromised. No person
shall be held
civilly or criminally liable, discriminated against,
dismissed, demoted, or in anyway
prejudiced or damaged for declining to participate
in any health care service that
violates his conscience.
B. For purposes of this Section:
(2) "Health care service" is limited to abortion,
dispensation of abortifacient
drugs, human embryonic stem cell research, including
destruction of any living
human embryo, human embryo cloning, euthanasia, or
physician-assisted suicide.
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